Eddie Hearn reacts to Dalton Smith’s win and reveals what Matias said after the fight

On January 10, at the Barclays Center in New York City, Subriel Matias vs Dalton Smith headlined a Fresh Productions card with Matias’ WBC super lightweight title up for grabs. Fight fans in select countries were able to see the entire event as a pay-per-view (PPV) with PPV.com.

It was an entertaining fight with both fighters having their moments before the Brit knocked down the big-punching Puerto Rican, leading to the referee waving the fight off, awarding Smith a sensational stoppage win, crowning him the new WBC super lightweight champion. His promoter, Eddie Hearn, spoke to Fight Hub TV after the fight, reflecting on Smith’s win, while revealing what Matias said after the stoppage.

Dalton Smith stops Matias in the fifth round

Smith began the fight, using his jab and boxing on the outside. However, by the third round, Smith (19-0, 14 KOs) and Matias were trading heavy shots with each other. It felt like Matias (23-3, 22 KOs) was having the best of these exchanges, but Smith was having his moments.

In the fifth round, Smith landed two big right hands that wobbled Matias. The Brit then moved in and landed a clubbing right hand that dropped Matias. Despite making it to his feet, he was on unsteady legs, and the referee waved the fight off, crowning Dalton Smith the new WBC super lightweight king.

Eddie Hearn reflects on the victory and reveals what Matias said after

Reflecting on Dalton Smith’s win, a clearly delighted Hearn said:

“Use his feet to actually get to the fourth round and go, do you know what? This ain’t going to work for me tonight. So, I’m going to hold my feet, and I’m going to have a war with you. 

“No one’s done that to Matias. He’s never been down before. He said to Dalton after: ‘I’ve never been hit like that before.’ You can win world titles, and you can win world titles that way. That has made him a f***ing superstar tonight and he deserves it all. And it’s only January the 10th, baby. Matchroom are on fire!”

When asked if he was worried in the third round, Hearn exclaimed, “I was worried that whole fight. I mean, look, the first round was a beautiful round of boxing, right? Easy. Second, he might have nicked it, but it was getting close. Then all of a sudden, he’s stopped boxing. He’s having a war with him. But he said, ‘I felt the power. I was comfortable in there. I felt like I could hurt him.’

“He hit him with a body shot about 45 seconds before that, that really hurt him. And he took his time. He hit him with the first right hand that stunned him, but that was sensational.”